After a poor showing in 2025-26, ski resorts are hoping the incoming El Niño will be a savior. Photo: Facebook//Cali Pass
The California ski season suffered a quick death by record-breaking heat. In mid-March, many resorts had to shut lifts down due to a lack of snow.
However, California resorts are hoping that forecasts for a “Godzilla”-sized El Niño — which could lead to bountiful snowfall — will recoup economic losses. Only three weeks since the official end of astronomical winter, they’re already using the forecasted weather pattern to sell tickets.
Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort in California blasted its email subscribers with promotions for the “Cali Pass,” which offers unrestricted access to four California resorts — Dodge Ridge, Bear Valley, Mountain High, and China Peak — and limited access to 14 other resorts across the western U.S. and Alaska.
“A winter for the history books may be on the way,” the email says. “Forecasters are calling for a potential Super El Niño — bringing colder, wetter storms and the kind of deep Sierra snow we live for.”
“With conditions potentially lasting into 2027, this is not the season to sit out,” the email continues. “Get your 26/27 Cali Pass today and be first in line for powder days, park laps, and non-stop parties… because seasons like this don’t come around often.”
The adult passes start at $679 before prices go up on April 30.
Given that April 1 snowpack in California was 18 percent of the average for that date — the lowest mark since 1960 — it makes sense that ski resorts are trying to leverage the potentially extreme winter to come.
El Niños historically have been a good indicator of a heavy snow season in California; however, climate scientists warn that weather patterns have become hard to predict due to climate change.
Patrick Barnard, Research Director of UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, told The Inertia that recent El Niños haven’t always provided the expected precipitation and snowfall.
“It’s been a mixed bag,” Barnard said. “For example, 2015-16 was a really powerful El Niño, but we had a drought.”
According to Barnard, the North Pacific storm track has been moving north due to climate change, and even though El Niño causes the storm track to drift further south, it’s possible it might not drift far enough south to hammer California.
It would be hard to believe that next winter could be as bad as the one we just experienced in the Western U.S. as far as snow conditions, but keep in mind when purchasing your 2026-2027 passes that epic snowfall is not guaranteed.
